I have made soups both ways, and to me, the end result is pretty much the same, in that both methods rely on the use of a great stock, and good ingredients. The slow cooker/crockpot comes into it's own for pulses such as lentils, and convenience, you can leave it do it's thang while you're at work etc which is what I love about it. With pulses etc, I find that if you are going to cook them in the crock pot you can get away with little or no soaking time, and here in the north of England, dried peas etc are what we eat in winter! :roll: Not quite used to them yet!

I have a crock pot of green pea soup on now.This is a new one to me. It comes with the ham flavor packet. I made it once before and liked the idea that I didn't have to have a ham bone or ham hocks on hand. :)
Dove

I have alway cooked my soups on my stove until last week. I came across a recipe for pea soup in the crock pot. I tried it and LOVED it. With this recipe you can just dump everything into the pot...turn it on...and 5 hours later its done. This kind of cooking gives me more time for making the fun stuff....dessert! I would love to try some more crock pot recipes.

Hi northernMIcook! I think it depends on what type of soup you want to cook. I do a minestrone where it really has to be done on the stove because I add the veggies in at all different times. But a vegetable soup, French Onion soup, potato soup, soups where everything is pretty much done at once would be good in a crockpot. But as far as using the word "superior" I would use it in the sense that if I'm going to be gone all day and I want to come home for soup then the crockpot is "superior" in that sense! Saves me from having to do the soup at the end of the day!

Layer ingredients in slow cooker as listed, pour in water. DO NOT STIR. Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove hamhocks and bay leaf. Cut meat off hocks, add to soup. Serve with croutons. Freezes well.

I make some of my soups in the crock pot in the summer when the AC is on. I start it before bed and in the morning I have a delicious soup. Sometimes, I will also use the c p when I have a bunch of errands to run and will be out all day.
I don't think soup is the c p is superior, but it is convenient at times.
However, there is nothing better than a large pot of soup simmering on a back burner on a cool fall day.
As you can see, I love soups of all kinds any time of the year.